iPads, which programs are you using?

Portable PA
21

Just to add to the discussion of importing songs and backing up, I’ll throw out a way I’ve been using (notice I’m not suggesting it’s the only way)  my song app on an iPad. 

First, any file like a PDF (not text files though) that I want to store in the app I first store on a directory of files on the cloud (Dropbox in my case) that contains all the files that I’ve put in the app.

From what I understand, on IOS, external files like PDFs are not physically stored within the app. They are in a files area that the app builds references to. So when I backup my app, everything (text files included) in the app gets copied except for external PDFs and the like. The references to the external files get backed up. I store that app backup file on a directory on the cloud as well and keep several iterations.

Assuming a major crash and I have to resurrect the app and its files from scratch, I restore the backup but all the external files will be missing. So I will attach the iPad to my computer and go into iTunes. It will list the song app along with an area that lists all the files that have been attached to the app. In this case, I’ll assume the list is empty. So I open Windows Explorer, open up the directory on the cloud that has all my files that should exist in the app, select all those files and drag/drop them into the app’s File area in iTunes. Since the app references files by name, all my attached files will now appear in the app in one step.

If I need to add a single file, I can point to it in Dropbox and do an “Open In” (or whatever they’re calling it in IOS v13) my song app to transfer the file. I only use iTunes when I need to do bulk copies.

This approach for storing the external files (PDFs, Word) in a separate area on the cloud from which I import them into the app, also allows me to spin off copies of any sub set of files to whomever, independent of any app it’s stored in.

Furthermore, if the app or IOS by some weird circumstance corrupts the file, I’ve got an independent backup. I also may have an editable Word version of the file along with a generated PDF file in the Dropbox directory. PDFs are typically much smaller in size so I may weed out the Word files when copying over to the app. This is one area that I didn’t like about OnSong, it prefers to store files in its own proprietary format. All my song files are text, PDF, or Word or Open Office format. And yes Word can get corrupted, but being so small a file for an individual song, that’s unlikely.

Hope this makes sense.

22

Backing up and restoring from Dropbox is a nice feature in OnSong.

Alas, I play a lot of gigs where there is no internet access so my iPad has to hold the few PDF/Word versions of songs in its local memory.

23

Just to be clear, I only use Dropbox for backup and restore and general maintenance when I’m at home. All my songs are stored in the app on the ipad when we perform.

24
CityFolk posted:

@troubador why did you select iBook vs using the Adobe Acrobat reader app? Just curious.

 

No particular reason, @CityFolk. iBook was on my iPad so I went with it. It never occurred to me to check out any other app (e.g. Adobe). I have a Word file, and save it as a PDF (so I have two copies - backed up via iTunes as well as on iCloud, Dropbox et al). I do a weekly backup off the iPad and that's when new songs get added to my Master file.

I did consider saving each song separately (I'm up to 160 songs now) but switching files is not conducive to a smooth set performance ...

So far this has served me well. My iPad has everything on it and the battery still holds its charge well - I can do 3 hours of music and the battery will drop to around 75% - no need for internet connection or power.

The only time I tried something diff was when I got BandHelper. Eventually that didn't work for me (though I like the design that uses a database to store each song).

The only drawback with the iPad is that if I'm outdoors in the summer without a canopy, I can't read the iPad screen. Last summer I had a gig and I just took my trusted (paper) binder where each song is in a plastic sleeve. It got windy and the binder/music stand was "blowin' in the wind" which became quite a challenge!! Live music sure keeps you on your toes!

Cheers

25

Excellente @troubador you’ve got a good system down. I recall when I was playing outside so I had sunglasses on. When I looked at my iPad the screen was blank! Panic set in until I realized the polarized sunglasses were blanking out the screen. It was fine. Whew!

Just FYI, the app I use is SetList Maker which is a precursor to BandHelper. It essentially is a database that contains individual song files in text or other formats such as PDF or Word. A “set” is just a listing that one builds that references a particular subset of songs under the auspices of a "show” from the pool of songs in the underlying database. What’s nice about this is I have a record of what I played, when and where. I can create set “templates” for reuse depending on the venue context. Jazz for one, Bluegrass for another etc.

In a performance “view” the set appears as a listing which you can break into sections (set 1, break, set 2 etc.) from which I just tap on the song and up comes the underlying song file. On the set listing, I can also display other things on a line for the song such as capo settings, a flashing metronome icon to set the tempo etc. I can also quickly add a song from the underlying database to a set on the fly in case I get a request that wasn’t in the list. No internet needed.

So having 300 Individual songs in the database doesn’t present an issue. 

26

Hi Admin,

Bose Pro Community Admin posted:

Hi CityFolk, Seagullman.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Seagullman posted:
CityFolk posted:

Perhaps someone (Bose Admin, @ST) can start a new topic on the iPAd music apps as we’re getting further afield from the theme of the original post. 

Good idea CityFolk,

for me the thread hasn't got much to do with the original post from ST. I would also suggest that ST starts a new thread for the iPad etc. things and moves the computer/app based posts to that new thread. The ideas can definitely be helpful to many users but I don't really see how they fit in here.

We now have this topic iPad Programs What Are You Using

and the original discussion is in a new thread Time Saving Tips

Have fun!

Thanks for this, it makes everything so much easier to follow.

It quite often happens that threads get "hijacked" for want of a better word. We've probably all done it but it does make it difficult to follow (especially, I would think for people who've selected a thread because of the topic headline and very quickly quickly realise that it's gone in a completely different direction).

Thanks again,

Tony

27

Further there was too much cool information being shared that I didn’t want to lose, from either thread. Thanks to ST for starting the original thread too.

28
CityFolk posted:

Further there was too much cool information being shared that I didn’t want to lose, from either thread. Thanks to ST for starting the original thread too.

Thanks to @ST for everything. Period. He's amazingly helpful and knowledgeable. A combo that is not easy to find! Just wanted to add that.

29
CityFolk posted:

Excellente @troubador you’ve got a good system down. I recall when I was playing outside so I had sunglasses on. When I looked at my iPad the screen was blank! Panic set in until I realized the polarized sunglasses were blanking out the screen. It was fine. Whew!

Just FYI, the app I use is SetList Maker which is a precursor to BandHelper. It essentially is a database that contains individual song files in text or other formats such as PDF or Word. A “set” is just a listing that one builds that references a particular subset of songs under the auspices of a "show” from the pool of songs in the underlying database. What’s nice about this is I have a record of what I played, when and where. I can create set “templates” for reuse depending on the venue context. Jazz for one, Bluegrass for another etc.

In a performance “view” the set appears as a listing which you can break into sections (set 1, break, set 2 etc.) from which I just tap on the song and up comes the underlying song file. On the set listing, I can also display other things on a line for the song such as capo settings, a flashing metronome icon to set the tempo etc. I can also quickly add a song from the underlying database to a set on the fly in case I get a request that wasn’t in the list. No internet needed.

So having 300 Individual songs in the database doesn’t present an issue. 

Ha ha ... last year I got new prescription glasses and they came with clip-on 'shades'. All good until I discovered that I couldn't read a thing with the shades on - because they're polarized!!!

Thanks for the kind words ... yes, I've kinda got used to the process that I've worked out and it just works for me. I also do a quick checklist before a gig - to make sure that I don't forget anything. I even pencil a sketch of the setup so that I know what I'm going to do for my setup - before I leave home.

Because I often add songs to my repertoire, I have two songbooks (for want of a better word - just lyrics and guitar chords with notes on capo position etc). One is my main repertoire and the other is my 'Pipeline' or songs that I'm working on. Once they're ready for showtime, I transfer individual songs to my 'Master' list. Both are on my iPad - so I can try out my 'Pipeline' songs when I get the opportunity.

I'm enjoying learning from others how each of us manages their performances. Glad that we have a good community who share their experiences so that we all get to learn and improve.

Thanks to all who contribute to these posts.